This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the presently described embodiments. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the described embodiments. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light and not as admissions of prior art.
In the oil and gas industry, a well may be drilled and a completion system may be installed at a surface end of the well in order to extract oil, natural gas, and/or other subterranean resources from the earth and/or to inject substances downhole. Such a completion system may be located onshore or subsea, depending on the location of the desired resource and/or well. A completion system generally includes a wellhead assembly through which a resource is extracted or fluids are injected.
Various mechanisms exist for connecting bodies or tubulars, including but not limited to mechanisms which can be set by weight or to a desired preloaded condition such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,066,048, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Such mechanisms include, for example, a rigid lockdown system, a landing-and-locking ring, expanding split ring, split lock ring, split load ring, C-ring, and similar mechanisms. One type of existing connection system uses an axial force couple by means of weight set or preloaded condition (to provide a rigid lockdown) to connect cylindrical bodies or tubulars, for example a wellhead housing within a conductor housing, to withstand such forces. Another type of connection system uses a passive lockdown mechanism, which requires a split lock ring being biased outwardly such that when an inner tubular is landed within an outer tubular, the split lock ring will set into place and provide the lockdown of the inner tubular to the outer tubular.
However, in the above examples, static and dynamic load capacities are dependent upon the preload created between concentrically placed cylindrical bodies or tubulars in a wellhead system. This typically creates pre-yielding of components and limits the corresponding static and dynamic load capacities. In order to increase the dynamic and static load capacities in these cases, an increase of the inner and outer diameters for the mating cylinders or tubulars is required, which can increase cost and may also preclude commercial applicability in some instances.